"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

His points are valid though. I don't even know how anyone can pin this loss on Kobe. Yes Kobe had a "sub-par" game but consider how horrific everyone else played...um, I can't even find words to describe how bad that game was. That was probablly one of the worst basketball game I have ever witnessed in my life.

Kobe's 10 TOs definitely didn't help, but to say that Kobe lost the game? SMH.

well again kobe didn t play that well because 10 turnovers doesn t say that he played that good. he had a so so game because of the turnovers and his fieldgoal percentage which was way under 50 percent with 12 for 28 fg .not a very good percentage but at least he tried to win it that s something what you can t say for many players on that roster in the game vs indianna. he made half of the points and had more rebounds individually as howard and gasol. also he hit most freethrows which the rest of the lakers players didn t .he was i believe 11 for 13 from freethrow line and hit that big 3 to tie the game. so again yup from turnovers and fieldgoal percentage he had a bad game but overall he was the only one who tried to win it and fought hard to will the lakers to a win.so to say kobe was the biggest reason lakers lost the game is disgusting and absolut not true.

"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

followwind wrote:His points are valid though. I don't even know how anyone can pin this loss on Kobe. Yes Kobe had a "sub-par" game but consider how horrific everyone else played...um, I can't even find words to describe how bad that game was. That was probablly one of the worst basketball game I have ever witnessed in my life.

Kobe's 10 TOs definitely didn't help, but to say that Kobe lost the game? SMH.

It was horrible no doubt. The worst part was the missed free throws. That just can't happen and it wasn't just Dwight missing free throws either. Ron missed 2 in the clutch. After that was the turnovers. Plus I don't know why Kobe played over 40 minutes, of course if you're tired and sick you're going to mistakes. I put that on D'Antoni. The turnovers hurt but coach should have managed his minutes better. If I recall Kobe played the entire second half. I could understand doing that in the playoffs but a regular season game? SMH

You can clearly see that he was being a faciliator early on but then decided to play hero ball after all his team mate's bricks. He played well in the 1st.

But he had a very poor 2nd quarter playing selfishly and not moving the ball at all, just keeping it to himself and forcing way too many shots. Kobe clearly needs to find a balance and make better decisions.

Learned something interesting from Tim Grover today: Kobe started working with him in 2007 after MJ recommended to Tim to reach out to KB

There has always been that mutual respect between Jordan and Kobe. I've always valued and liked this because Jordan hasn't and doesn't always appreciate or believe some of our others superstars in the league are has good as they really are or how the media makes them out to be.

"I just put my faith in God. Through him we can do all things" - Kobe Bryant, March 24, 2004

trodgers wrote:When should he trust his teammates? Give me the algorithm.

Always. Even when they're missing. It's a simple algorithm really. It's easy to dish when everyone is hitting their shots. Where Kobe still has some room to grow (given he's just about perfect in every other aspect) is in not giving up on the team concept when the team starts to struggle a little. In fact, that might be the WORST time to give up on the team concept because in order to win you gotta get the other guys going.

We are a much better basketball team when Kobe plays facilitator because he commands so much attention.

The only time Kobe hero ball should be acceptable with this group is the final possession of each quarter if we're stagnant, or, at the end of games when we need someone who can create a scoring opportunity. Other than that, force feed the team concept and eventually someone will get going.

Learned something interesting from Tim Grover today: Kobe started working with him in 2007 after MJ recommended to Tim to reach out to KB

There has always been that mutual respect between Jordan and Kobe. I've always valued and liked this because Jordan hasn't and doesn't always appreciate or believe some of our others superstars in the league are has good as they really are or how the media makes them out to be.

On Tuesday, still riding the magic created from that career-launching meeting, Grover was in Los Angeles working with Kobe Bryant.

As the Lakers were falling to the Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Monday night in Denver, Grover was boarding a plane from Chicago to L.A. He arrived at 11 p.m. PT, and less than 12 hours later, he and Bryant met to discuss ways to prepare for Game 5. They planned to meet again later in the day.

"As physical as the Denver series has been, [the Houston series] and other stuff, he understands this is part of the reason he's been successful for so many years, and he's not willing to change that," Grover said. "It's easy to lay around, but just resting on the couch is not beneficial.

"Kobe is coming off playing a game in Denver where the altitude is different. All that comes into play with his hydration, nutrition, how he's going to prepare for the next day. There's a lot of preparation that goes into it before meeting with the athlete. Being that I'm as obsessed as the clients are, they're willing to trust me."

Grover is paid a nice sum for traveling across the country -- and now likely staying on the West Coast until the Lakers either win the title or get eliminated. But to him, like his clients, winning is what matters most.

"It is taxing, but we're as committed as our athletes," he said. "We're as obsessed as they are. Kobe fell short of his goal last year to win a championship. Our job won't be complete until he wins that championship. Anything short of that is a failure. That's how I feel about it."

And Grover's instincts have been sharp enough to gain the trust of NBA royalty.

Jordan had just been knocked around again by the elbows, knees, chests, heads and fists of Detroit's "Bad Boys." Jordan understood if he and the Bulls were to go further, his body had to be better prepared for such playoff punishments.

Grover was only 24 then, and Jordan was to be his first professional client, but Grover was sure he had Jordan's answer.

"He said he'd try it out for a month, and it ended up being 15 years," Grover said.

Jordan, of course, went on to win six titles and is regarded as perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. For Grover, the arc was similar. His accomplishments can't be measured in rings or MVP trophies, but he also has proof of success. His client list includes Bryant, Dwyane Wade and more than a dozen others; he employs his own small army of trainers and owns a 65,000-square foot facility on Chicago's West Side that includes three NBA courts, over $1 million worth of exercise equipment, a barber shop and a 110-inch television.

"It's not just hiring Tim Grover any longer," Grover said. "You're hiring Tim Grover and Attack Athletics and everything that comes with it."

In the 20 years since that initial meeting with Jordan, Grover has witnessed technology and training methods develop beyond his dreams. But while Grover has adapted and added new pieces to his training program, his core has remained the same. Whether it was building Jordan's body to absorb Bill Laimbeer's elbows or strengthening Wade's knee for last summer's Olympics or currently maintaining Bryant's body, Grover has relied on preparation and hard work.

"That's something my parents instilled in me at a very young age," said Grover, who grew up on Chicago's Northwest Side and later played college basketball at Illinois-Chicago. "There are no shortcuts. There's no substitute for hard work. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. You saw that in Game 3 when Kobe hit that 3. That's not luck. He's prepared to take that shot. We've hit him with pads while taking that shot. When the opportunity came on, he took it.

"It's the same thing Dwyane did, Michael did, all the super superstars. It doesn't happen by mistake."

It didn't happen by mistake or coincidence that Bryant, Jordan and Wade all hired Grover.

"It's a first-class organization here with Tim Grover, first with Hoops and now with ATTACK Athletics," Wade said after a Grover workout last summer following the Olympics. "It's a first-class thing we run. I say we because I feel so much a part of it because I've been coming here since my rookie year."

Grover often is asked what the common denominator is between the greats he has trained, and Grover has found it's that ultimate focus and dedication.

"Here's what they're willing to do: They understand the sacrifice that it takes," he said. "Getting to the top of the mountain isn't the hard part. It's staying on top. They know it's not just an in-season thing, an offseason thing, a preseason thing. It's a year-round thing. They have to make sacrifices to go places where you don't normally want to go."

There are two teams that play in the Staples Center:the LA Lakers and NBA Clippers.

trodgers wrote:When should he trust his teammates? Give me the algorithm.

Always. Even when they're missing. It's a simple algorithm really. It's easy to dish when everyone is hitting their shots. Where Kobe still has some room to grow (given he's just about perfect in every other aspect) is in not giving up on the team concept when the team starts to struggle a little. In fact, that might be the WORST time to give up on the team concept because in order to win you gotta get the other guys going.

We are a much better basketball team when Kobe plays facilitator because he commands so much attention.

The only time Kobe hero ball should be acceptable with this group is the final possession of each quarter if we're stagnant, or, at the end of games when we need someone who can create a scoring opportunity. Other than that, force feed the team concept and eventually someone will get going.

He was in an angry mood at Thursday's practice, calling out his teammates for not being tough enough in games, The Times has learned.

It wasn't a long rant, maybe half a minute, but he left practice in a hurry, stalking off the court toward the end of it, irritated that the first team had lost to the reserves several times. He knocked some items off a table at midcourt on his way to the locker room and did not talk to reporters who were let in after his outburst.

Bryant's message wasn't light. It contained expletives and hammered at the same theme. The Lakers should not be playing this poorly. Everyone needed to be stronger emotionally and physically.

Can a tirade save a season? Too early to tell. Much too early. But it didn't hurt Friday for a team that improved to 8-8.

Bryant had 14 points and eight assists, his anger ebbing after several days of smoldering from the Lakers' 79-77 loss Tuesday to Indiana. He had 40 points that game while fighting flu-like symptoms but also had 10 turnovers.

He was less error-prone Friday (four turnovers), as were his teammates.

Dwight Howard was strong almost across the board, scoring 28 points with 20 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Antawn Jamison was more than solid, scoring 33 points as the Lakers' backups outscored those of the Nuggets, 61-47. It was the first time a Lakers reserve scored more than 30 since Shaquille O'Neal had 33 in 1998 against Golden State.

"Just being patient," Jamison said, "and knowing the things I can do on the court would contribute to the team."

Jodie Meeks had 21 points, including five three-pointers in the second quarter, as he and Jamison became the first pair of Lakers off the bench to score more than 20 in a game since Bryant (25 points) and Nick Van Exel (20 points) did it against Utah in 1998.

As unhappy as Bryant was Thursday, Howard played with youthful exuberance Friday, smiling often and thoroughly enjoying a return to relevance after averaging 11.5 in the previous four games.

On one third-quarter play, he one-handed a dunk off a lob from Pau Gasol. Then he gazed in mock admiration at his right hand as he went back downcourt.

He made a three-pointer with 9.8 seconds to play, the second of his career, and laughed as he left the court. It was the Lakers' 17th three-pointer, tying the team record for threes in a regulation game (against Seattle in 2003).

Bryant was still tight-lipped after the game, if not dour. "If guys are too happy, I need to bring them back down to Earth tomorrow," he said with more than a slight edge.

As Steve Nash's left leg slowly tried to heal — 30 days already — Bryant had taken over the Lakers' offense, handling the ball almost exclusively with Nash and Steve Blake out.

"Kobe is the type of player that he's going to try to get you to the promised land, and if he feels like people are struggling, he's going to take over more," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said beforehand.

D'Antoni also addressed Bryant's unhappiness since the Indiana game.

"I'm sure he wasn't happy about it. He felt like he was trying to get us the win," D'Antoni said. "I'd rather go to battle with something like that. He's got it tuned up as hard as you can go, and that's all you can ask for as a coach. Everybody should hold themselves accountable."

It undoubtedly tied into Bryant's anger Thursday. Whether it related to Friday's victory, the Lakers were all smiles afterward.

ill put this game on Kobe and Mike IMO. Kobe for knowing what the team needs but still going 1v5 and not getting guys involved. he needs to be facilitating as LNG as Nash is gone and when he does then we win. then when D has to account for others he take over. and mike for playing Kobe so much when he could have played Meeks next to him...kid drills a 3 to out us up 7 in the 4th and takes him out and immediately were down by 1 never to recover after hack a Dwight.

also don't know why we didn't put gasol in when they hack a Dwight when we were only down 1 or tied. kind of bad rotations today IMO and Kobe forcing the issue all game. tons of possessions the ball didn't leave Kobe's hands and many Didnt end in points for us either. also his D was terrible today. everyone's was but Kobe's guys went off.

Ariza3 wrote:ill put this game on Kobe and Mike IMO. Kobe for knowing what the team needs but still going 1v5 and not getting guys involved. he needs to be facilitating as LNG as Nash is gone and when he does then we win. then when D has to account for others he take over. and mike for playing Kobe so much when he could have played Meeks next to him...kid drills a 3 to out us up 7 in the 4th and takes him out and immediately were down by 1 never to recover after hack a Dwight.

also don't know why we didn't put gasol in when they hack a Dwight when we were only down 1 or tied. kind of bad rotations today IMO and Kobe forcing the issue all game. tons of possessions the ball didn't leave Kobe's hands and many Didnt end in points for us either. also his D was terrible today. everyone's was but Kobe's guys went off.

really put that on kobe ? wow that is awful and absolut not right. don t have any words for it. kobe didn t played that well but to put the loss on kobe . man are you serious ? i think you don t have not so much of a basketball clou

So dissapointed in kobe's defense. It was HORRIBLE today in my opinion. And just dissapointed in him overall. Kobe can play point. He just chooses not to do it consistently . The triangle allowed the team to thrive off of not needing a pg. But with a team and system like this, no proper point guard play will ALWAYS result in a loss. Kobe is a shooting guard, but there is no reason why he can't play the way the team needs him to, until nash gets back. But kobe's not doing it. It just wont happen. I thought he would, but I can see now that it just won't happen. He can say whatever he wants about running the point while being a shooting guard, but his play is doing the talking for him. This team will be average until nash gets back, and plays point the right way. Because kobe sure aint doing it...

I can not wait for Nash to come back and take the ball away from Kobe coming up the court. Kobe is able to run the offense beautifully, but he is a scorer and he will look for his shot primarily before others. Not only in this game did he look for his shot, but he wanted to play 1v5 it seemed.